Four Walls of Budget

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Budgeting is to plan and manage your income or earnings to achieve specific financial goals. It requires investing time and effort and helps you monitor your finances and improve savings which further helps in building financial security. Saving money is the essential part in budgeting as it is a key plan that will help you during financial emergencies. 

Ways to Boost Your Savings:

1. Traditional Budgeting: In simple terms, reduce your wants and spend only on your needs. What I mean here is by reducing expenses, you can save more which will further help you to invest in big things like funds, property etc. It will save you from the death zone. You can make a consistent budget every month in order to go smoothly.
2. Zero-based Budgeting: Your total income should be divided among needs and costs. Try to allocate a certain amount to expenditure,savings,investments,emergency and retirement funds. By keeping a track on all of these, you can actually record your spending history and further make wise decisions.
3. Proportional Budgeting: The most effective budgeting approaches includes 50-30-20 rules, which says 50% needs, 30%wants, and 20%savings. 
4. Reverse Budgeting: Reverse budgeting is basically completing one goal at a time. Plan a 4 month or a 6 month budget plan, in which you will be doing one big expense every month. This will ease your tension and can also help in managing things in a much simpler way.
5. Value-Based Budgeting: Focus on things that add value to your entire working setup. For example, if buying a house is your priority, then, you need to allocate the most amount to it. If travelling is your priority, you should allocate most of the salary to it.

What Are the Four Walls of Budgeting?

Four walls of budgeting are the most basic expenses you need to cover to keep your nervous system(family) going. These are food, utilities, shelter and transportation. 

1. Housing expenses: One of the biggest expenses, which includes rent, mortgage, insurance, taxes and maintenance. One needs shelter to live, but keep in mind that the biggest asset you own is also a fixed expense. 
2. Food: You can’t live without food, ofcourse no one can. So never cut down on the thing which gives you eternal satisfaction. Instead you can try having simple and staple food and keep a day in a month wherein you can eat some good cuisine to balance out your budget. Depending on your choices and preferences, you can spend a lot or a little on food.
3. Utilities: Utilities such as electricity, water, gas and heating, they keep your home functional. However, utilities can also be one of your budget’s most unpredictable and variable expenses. They can fluctuate depending on the season, the weather, and usage habits.

The key to budgeting for utilities is to monitor your consumption and look for ways to reduce it. 

4. Transportation: It includes commuting costs such as gas, parking,tolls and public transit fares, car payments, insurance, and maintenance.However, transportation can also be one of your budget’s most flexible and optional expenses. You can choose different modes and transportation methods depending on your needs and preferences.

Budgeting Tips for Your Daily Life:

1. Budget to zero before the month begins
2. Families who budget together, make wise decisions for life.
3. Every month is different and so are the expenses. Plan accordingly.
4. First things first.
5. Pay off your debts.
6. Be flexible when it comes to cut down on something which can be done later.
7. Schedulelling is the key.
8. Keep an eye on your progress.
9. Don’t stuff while planning your budget, leave room for unplanned things too.
10. Stop using credit cards. 
11. Cash In hand works better.
12. Try using an online budget tool

Conclusion:

The four walls of a budget are the essential expenses you must cover before anything else. They are food, utilities, shelter, and transportation. Budgeting for these four walls ensures you meet your basic needs and avoid unnecessary stress.You can also avoid spending money on things that are not as important or urgent, such as entertainment, clothing, or debt payments. This can help you save money, pay off debt, and achieve your financial goals faster.

FAQs

1. What are some of the popular budgeting tools?

Google sheets, personal capital, goodbudget, GNUCash

2. What are the four types of expenses?

Variable expenses, Fixed expenses, Intermittent expenses,Discretionary expenses.

Ana

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